Exam 4: Applications of Behaviorist Principles

Ms. Longman is using programmed instruction in teaching her geography class. Which one of the following are students least likely to encounter in their instruction?

An instructional objective that requires students to rephrase a definition in their own words is at the ________ level in Bloom's taxonomy.

Sean is a high school student who is angry much of the time. He often vents his anger by swearing at his teacher. One day his teacher decides to extinguish Sean's swearing by ignoring him whenever he swears. Yet over the next few weeks, Sean continues to swear as frequently as he always has. Three of the following are possible explanations as to why, from a behaviorist perspective, the teacher's "extinction" strategy is not working. Which alternative is the least likely explanation?

Judging from the brief descriptions below, which of these four teachers is most likely to be using a mastery learning approach?

Matthew knows his teacher will give him credit for each assignment he completes on time, without regard for the accuracy of what he does. As a result, Matthew often completes his work quickly, sloppily, and sometimes incorrectly. This situation illustrates which one of the following concerns regarding the use of behaviorist techniques in the classroom?

Ms. Hernandez is concerned about Brian, a student in her high school chemistry class who rarely interacts with other students. Ms. Hernandez decides to smile at Brian on those occasions when she happens to notice him talking with another student. Yet after three weeks she sees little change in his behavior. Based on this information, which one of the following is definitely wrong with Ms. Hernandez's approach?

Ms. Delahanty has several students who are chronic misbehavers. She meets individually with each student, and together the teacher and student agree to a plan for improving the student's behavior and a suitable reinforcement for appropriate behavior change. Ms. Delahanty is using:

Describe the mastery learning approach to instruction, identifying five major components that are typically included. Then give a concrete example of how you might use mastery learning to teach a specific topic, being sure to illustrate all five of the components you listed.

The director of the local boys' club is concerned about the hostility exhibited by Jeremy, a 14-year-old boy who comes to the club frequently with his friends. Jeremy uses obscene language at the club, and he sometimes displays physical aggression toward the club facilities he kicks furniture, punches the walls, and so on). Use an instrumental conditioning framework to address the following questions. a. The director first decides to eliminate Jeremy's hostile behaviors by ignoring them. In behaviorist terminology, what is the director trying to do? b. This ignoring strategy does not seem to lead to any reduction in Jeremy's hostility. Using an instrumental conditioning framework, give at least two possible explanations for the failure of the director's approach. c. The director then begins to praise Jeremy on those rare occasions when he does behave appropriately. In behaviorist terminology, how is the director now trying to eliminate the hostility? d. This second approach does not seem to work any better than the first one did. Using an instrumental conditioning framework, give at least two possible explanations for the failure of this approach.

Describe three major characteristics of programmed instruction, and relate each one to a principle or concept from behaviorism.

A variety of discipline-specific professional organizations have developed context area standards

Teachers and other practitioners must be very careful in their use of punishment as a means of changing behavior. Three of the following are potential disadvantages in using punishment. Which statement about punishment is false?

The major advantage of using Bloom's taxonomy in developing objectives is that the taxonomy:

In Marcia's first tennis lesson, her instructor Keith is trying to teach her the correct way to swing a tennis racket. Keith praises Marcia every time she hits the tennis ball over the net and into the "in bounds" area of the opponent's side of the court using the correct body position. Marcia shows little improvement during the one-hour lesson. From a behaviorist perspective, what mistake is Keith probably making in teaching Marcia to play tennis?

Three of the following are disadvantages of taxonomies and standards described in the textbook. Which of the following is not a disadvantage?

Judging from the brief descriptions below, which one of these four teachers is most likely to be using a mastery learning approach?

Which of the following statement is not true of high stakes testing?

If you were to apply the concept of terminal behavior in teaching a lesson, which one of these things would you do?

Ms. Smythe keeps Eric after school whenever he swears in class. Even though Eric has been kept after school each day for the past three weeks, his swearing has increased rather than decreased. Given what we know about the effects of punishment on behavior, Ms. Smythe should probably conclude that:

Which one of the following statements best characterizes how reinforcement of incompatible behavior can help reduce people's inappropriate behaviors?